Have a thick skin.
Do everything with a sense of humour.
Forgive yourself if you fail.
Fake it till you make it.
Sometimes you just need to take a nap and get over it.
Keep your promises, especially the ones you make to your kids – it’s important. Read more
Dear Santa
I know you usually take requests from children, but I have worked really hard this year and would really appreciate it if you could add me to the Christmas list. I know it is a lot to ask and I do not have high expectations, if all the gifts on the list could only last for one day, I would have the perfect 24 hours.
Please consider making Christmas a perfect holiday for this mom by bringing me the following gifts:
1) One day that DAD has to answer all the questions and handle all the complaints
My beautiful daughter
There is a poem called Walking Away by C Day Lewis that ends:
‘…how selfhood begins with walking away,
and love is proved in letting go.’
It feels like every time I blink we have reached yet another milestone and I have to open my hands a little bit more, give you a bit more freedom and start letting you go. I know it is part of the circle of life, you are growing up, but as your mom I wish I could just keep you safe from the world. The world can be a big and scary place, but it is also wonderful, exciting and beautiful.
I have to let you go, give you a chance to make your own mistakes and send you into the world. Here’s some lessons I’ve had to learn the hard way.
We’ve had a very busy few days the past week with ballet recitals and exams. An almost normal week in the chaos that I call my life.
Then something happened which made me realise that sometimes you just have to stop, take a breath and appreciate your life and the people that you love.
I always thought the term stepparent comes from the fact that you as ‘step-in’ as parent. The word actually comes from the 8th century word ‘steop-’, which means orphan.
Our kids have never been orphans and I like my interpretation of the word a lot more. I hate the word stepmom, mostly because of all the negative connotations that the word have. In our house we talk about the Other Mom. If I have to speak to someone I always refer to myself as the ‘Other Mom.’ So much so that The Littlest Mouse used to ask why she only has one mom. ‘Other Mom’ or ‘Stepmom’, we are all just doing the best we can.
If I could go back in time and tell my naive, younger self what to expect there is a few things I would warn her about being a stepmom. I love being a mom and I love all my children but there is some things about being a stepmom that you never even think about before it applies to you.
1) Disney hates you
